


J is for Jaffa

by MariaPriest



Series: Stargate Drabbles' Alphabet Challenge [10]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 06:24:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14847471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaPriest/pseuds/MariaPriest
Summary: Will Teal'c be the only Jaffa on SG-1?





	J is for Jaffa

**Author's Note:**

> Tag to "The Devil You Know"

" _NO!_ " Jack O'Neill screams the word so loudly and forcefully that his vocal cords seize in pain. He struggles to free himself from the four Jaffa holding him hostage by his extremities, but to no avail.

He commands his eyes to leave Sam Carter's pleading, terrified face and the Jaffa ripping her shirt open as she lay on a cold, stone table in some gaudily decorated room on Sokar's ship. Thanks to some trick of the hand device, she is motionless, unable to fight back. 

His eyes come to rest on the imperious face of Apophis. The Goa'uld reminds him of an evil, twisted version of the Phantom of the Opera.

"You don't want to do this." O'Neill frosts his words with dark threat, but they merely sound like newborn-kitten wheezes through his tortured airway.

"Silence him!" Apophis ordered another Jaffa.

Wasting no time carrying out his God's bidding, the Jaffa pinches the human's nose closed.

O'Neill holds his breath. He knows it's only a matter of time before he must take in the needed air, but he has no intentions of doing so until the last possible moment. Too soon, his mouth opens involuntarily and immediately he feels a large, filthy rag being shoved into the gap. The rancid, sooty taste rapidly triggers the need to puke.

Further enraged, O'Neill fights harder against his Jaffa restraints. He looks to Teal'c, who is on the other side of Carter's prone body. Five of Apophis's automatons are still holding him, despite the pain and weakness he can tell Teal'c is experiencing. He struggles to remember how long it's been since Apophis removed Junior from his friend's pouch.

Teal'c's non-verbal message reaches him loud and clear: There is little to no possibility that he will break free, and there is regret, sorrow, and shame that he has let O'Neill and the rest of the team down.

O'Neill telegraphs "It's not your fault" to his suffering teammate. And it isn't Teal'c's fault. It is his, as leader of the team. In the final analysis, the buck always stops with him.

And this, their current life as SG-1, is looking pretty damn final. Things are about to change substantively for them all.

He looks back at Carter. She has managed to turn her head slightly toward him. The terror is still there, along with blatant strength and a growing stoicism. Her courage awes him. She is a true warrior. He does his best to show his pride in and respect of her.

Out of the corner of his eye, O'Neill sees Apophis, a malicious grin marring his face, lower that familiar, large, glowing jewel. Jack controls with gargantuan effort every urge he has to center his vision on that terrible thing and to fight his captors even harder. Carter needs him, now that the inevitable is happening.

O'Neill fights the new urge to cry as the center of the jewel touched Carter's navel. She squeezes her eyes tightly against the agony he knew once upon a time and knows he will feel again all too soon.

An unexpected surge of fight hormones saturates O'Neill's body. He renews his attempts to break free, but they are met with sharp jabs to his kidneys and a vicious kick to his right knee. He tears from the pain, yet doesn't back off.

Rapidly, O'Neill blinks away the mist clouding his vision in time to see Apophis holding a baby snake above Carter's wounded belly. Everything about Jack but his racing heart stills completely. Then Apophis focuses his gaze on O'Neill.

O'Neill glowers at him with unadulterated hatred.

The Goa'uld laughs and places the larval Goa'uld in Carter's newly formed pouch.

When he hears the sucking sound of the larva entering his friend, O'Neill manages to prevent his stomach from spewing its contents. His heart aches from the ripping it seems to be doing in his chest. He shouts expletive-laced insults and promises of a slow, agonizing death for Apophis that don't get past the gag.

Then, abruptly, Jack is free. Apophis's henchmen have released him and are standing off to the side. He yanks the gag from his mouth as he strides toward Apophis, intent on killing the snake-head with his bare hands. He is within a few feet when the false god hits him with a pressure wave from the hand device.

In the moment it takes for O'Neill to smash against the wall that will end his flight, he hears Teal'c call out his name. He thinks he should've known that Apophis would pull some kind of crap like this. Worst of all, he witnesses the devastation in Carter's glistening eyes.

JJJJ

O'Neill's return to consciousness comes with a mammoth headache, accompanied by that vile gag stuffed in his mouth and four Jaffa attached to his arms and legs. He notices they aren't holding him very tightly. They don't need to; he is still recovering from his up-close-and-personal meeting with a wall so hard that it could survive Ground Zero. His entire body should be aching but the adrenaline remains at high levels.

And there is Daniel stretched out on the same table Carter had been on. Sam is nowhere to be seen. Daniel's chest and abdomen are already bare and two Jaffa have their staff weapons trained on him. Jack surmises that Apophis hasn't immobilized his friend yet.

"Jack? You can put Plan B in motion any time. Uh, now would be good," he says calmly.

O'Neill's heart rips further. Daniel, always brave, is more so now than ever before. With a nod and eyes that see nothing but Daniel's petrified yet hopeful face, Jack sends him support, strength, and admiration.

Then the unspeakable horror that happened to Sam repeats itself, a recurring nightmare that is real.

Apophis uses the ribbon device to paralyze Daniel. O'Neill and Teal'c labor fruitlessly to break free. Daniel, unable to move his head, instead moves his eyes so full of spirit and fear and forgiveness (Daniel knows him so well; knows that Jack blames himself for this) to center on Jack, who does the only thing he can do: struggle harder.

Apophis, his laugh colored with psychosis, places the jewel from hell on Daniel's belly. A muffled shriek, unable to fully be realized, burbles in Daniel's throat as the pain rocks his body. Then an infant Goa'uld snakes its way into Daniel's larval pouch.

And Daniel Jackson is changed forever as well.

The sight of Daniel becoming a Jaffa snatches Jack's breath away. His headache grows worse, and the Jaffa punch his kidneys and boot his knee over and over again as if it were a soccer ball in heated tournament play.

O'Neill can't make sense of Apophis turning them into Jaffa - a huge tactical error. SG-1 will be stronger and still in control of themselves and presumably would escape from Apophis, free to go Goa'uld hunting with a greater vengeance than before; however, eventually each one would die rather than become hosts to the matured Goa'uld. If their heads had been snaked instead, they would be lost, unwillingly pledged to that scuzzy false god, until somehow the Tok'ra could de-snake them. Or not.

Unless Apophis plans to hold one of them hostage while the other three carry out his orders. That would make sense; that's what O'Neill would do if he were a loony, megalomaniacal demon of darkness with an affinity for gold lamé and absurd Mickey Mouse-ish hats. 

To make matters worse, Jack can tell Teal'c, whose face is streaked with tears, is dying a little faster now. If Apophis doesn't replace Junior, Jack will give Teal'c his snakelet, because Jack doesn't deserve to live, having failed his team so terribly on this mission. The one thing he contributed to the team -- his protection -- was less than useless this time. His last hope of redemption is to save Teal'c, if that slime ball snake-head turns him into a nursery. _Just don't let it be one in the head_.

Apophis doesn't disappoint. The Goa'uld fastens the pouch-making jewel around his waist and, with a malevolent glint in his snaky eyes, approaches O'Neill.

Jack quiets; he has chosen to face his fate head on. The fight will be the defiance tensing his perspiring body and the assurance of death in his eyes. His loathing of Apophis climbs higher still because the Goa'uld denied both Carter and Daniel the chance to show they would have met this invasion with equal strength and control.

The two Jaffa restraining his legs release their hold and together tear his shirt open. One of them removes the rag.

O'Neill spits out what little tainted moisture there is in his mouth. "I've always thought you were too stupid to live," he says in a voice cracking with strain and emotion, "but this takes the cake." He clears his throat. His voice improves marginally. "Now you'll have _four_ Jaffa who will kick your wormy ass to Netu."

Apophis's body tenses and his eyes glow in anger. Moments later, the jewel glows as well. He pulls Jack O'Neill into an embrace.

O'Neill's face twists into an expression of revulsion because of the sickly sweet odor of the Goa'uld and the physical intimacy forced on him.

Despite his best efforts, Jack screams at the excruciating pain of the pouch forming. Burning anguish ripples out through him from his gut. He doesn't remember it being this bad when Hathor jeweled him. This time, it seems to last for hours. Amplifying his failure and misery is the sight of an unmoving Daniel with tears streaming from his eyes.

Once the pouch is finished, Apophis lets go of O'Neill, who is panting from the pain that is fading far too slowly. Jack is growing increasingly lightheaded and is resentfully grateful for the Jaffa holding him upright. He works on slowing his breathing.

Apophis reaches into the clear, fluid-filled urn for the remaining larva. To mark his victory over SG-1, he holds the squirming larva close to O'Neill's face for a few long moments, taunting him, before allowing it to enter its live incubator.

The larva slithers in, then stops abruptly. This gives Jack hope that the snakelet will reject him and leave. Suddenly it begins to twist and turn and flip, exploring its new home. The sharp, acid taste of bile fills his mouth, but inexplicably it does not go farther.

"You will not dare to defy your god, _Jaffa_. SG-1 belongs to me and will do as I command."

O'Neill grimaces at both Apophis's prediction and the boundary testing his new baby snake is doing. "My team doesn't drink that flavor of Kool-Aid," he snarls.

Apophis's eyes glow so brightly that O'Neill swears he can feel heat. The Goa'uld backhands Jack, cutting his face in three places with the hand device. "Kneel before _your_ god, Jaffa!"

"Only in your nightmares, Scarface," O'Neill grinds out as he is pushed painfully to his knees despite resisting; he is too new a Jaffa to match his opponents' strength. "Hell, I'll kill you all by my lonesome, you son of a bitch," he growls through clenched teeth. The depth and breadth of his hatred for the sadistic bastard frighten him, but for only a heartbeat. Neither does it bother him as he imagines all the heinous ways he will torture and kill the snake-head the instant he gets the opportunity.

Apophis throws his head back and laughs hard, the resonant tone of the Goa'uld in control making it sound eerie and disturbing. It settles caustically in the pit of O'Neill's stomach. Despite that, he lunges upward for the suddenly exposed throat.

JJJJ

Daniel Jackson started awake to find himself curled up on the floor next to Jack. The air was stifling and reeked of sweaty, filthy bodies. The taste in his mouth was foreign and revolting, and his jaw hurt. It took several careful head shakes before he realized they were in the cargo hold of a _teltak_ bound for Vorash after too long a stay in Goa'uld Hell. At the same time he knew what woke him: Jack had shouted, "You son of a bitch!"

The next thing Daniel noticed was the heat pouring from Jack's rigid body. His dirty clothes were dripping wet. Daniel imagined he saw steam rising from his friend.

Lantesh roused Martouf, who had been sleeping as well. He lay perpendicular to O'Neill with their feet almost touching. _~Colonel O'Neill is ill_ ,~ the Tok'ra informed his host. _~I believe there is something more than an illness affecting him.~_

The stirring Tok'ra grabbed Daniel's attention. "Martouf, Jack is really sick. And I'm pretty sure that's not all that's going on."

Martouf shed the last of his sleep. "Lantesh agrees with you, Doctor Jackson. Perhaps we should awaken him." He slid around on the floor until he was stretched out on O'Neill's side opposite the archeologist. Before he could reach out for O'Neill's shoulder, Jackson said, "No, don't touch him. It's dangerous to do that when he's, he's, he's ... like this."

Daniel took a deep breath and exhaled through pursed lips. "Jack, wake up." He desperately wanted to touch O'Neill as well, to shake him awake, but let his will to live, preferably injury-free, take charge. "Jack," he said louder and with authority when it was apparent the first urging didn't work. In his peripheral vision, he saw the Carters slowly awakening.

It took three more times, until Daniel was shouting, before O'Neill woke abruptly. Daniel was so stunned by the unbridled loathing on his friend's face that he failed to back away enough to avoid a stranglehold on his throat.

By the time Martouf could reach over and pry O'Neill's fingers from Daniel's neck, Daniel's eyes were already bulging and his consciousness dimming. Sam crawled on her hands and knees to Daniel while she shouted, "Colonel! JACK!"

The instant his hand was free of Daniel's neck, O'Neill stared wild-eyed at his friend. "Daniel?" he whispered with a mix of confusion and contrition.

Jackson, now holding his own throat, would have toppled to the floor had Carter not been there to catch him. "It's okay, Daniel. I got you." She held him close and upright to facilitate his breathing and kept herself between him and the colonel as best she could. Once they were situated, Carter flashed an angry look at her commanding officer.

O'Neill caught it, but he didn't care what Carter thought of him at the moment. As far as he was concerned, they had much more important things to attend to. "What are we doing here? Where's Apophis?"

Carter's anger dissipated quickly as she noted something wasn't right with the colonel. She knitted her brow. "He's dead, Colonel."

"I ... _killed_ him?"

"No, sir. Apophis died in the explosion on Netu. Or maybe the mother ship. And our mission is completed."

O'Neill's nostrils flared. "No, he didn't die! He's alive! He made us Jaffa, for cryin' out loud, Carter! And he's got Teal'c as his bargaining chip!"

"Colonel? Teal'c is --"

_Dead!_ Jack thought, feeling as if his own soul had been slain, as he rolled to his side before Carter could finish. He began clawing at her shirt, trying to pull it out of her trousers. Carter was too shocked to fight him off. Daniel, despite his trouble breathing, tried to help Sam after a moment, but Jack knocked his hand away. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you, Carter? Can't you _feel_ the damn thing? You're a freakin' _Jaffa_!"

It had taken the still-recovering Selmak and his host Jacob Carter longer than they hoped to get to the agitated colonel. Selmak, in control of the body, grabbed O'Neill's wrists. "Martouf, get Teal'c. _Now_."

O'Neill screeched out a "No!" and almost wrested from Selmak's grip. "Have to get you back to Apophis or he'll let Teal'c die!"

Selmak looked closely into O'Neill's eyes. The pupils were fully dilated and they rippled slowly, as if they had a thick, viscous consistency. "Hurry!"

Martouf nodded. He was at the control room door in moments and opened it. "Teal'c! Something is wrong with the colonel. Bring the zat--"

Teal'c was past Martouf before he could say the weapon's full name and he had it primed for use. He evaluated the scene playing out before him: Selmak/Jacob trying to contain a battling O'Neill, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson edging away from the two brawling people. He raised the zat'nik'atel and aimed it at his brother-in-arms. "Ready."

With a quick nod, Selmak pushed Jack away in the half-second before he released his wrists, isolating the colonel from the rest of them.

In his peripheral vision, O'Neill saw Teal'c - a _healthy_ Teal'c who was pointing a zat at him. "Teal--" he said with pure joy and more than a little curiosity before he was cut off by blue strands of painful energy enveloping him.

Everyone but Daniel held their breaths as O'Neill twitched and finally quieted into unconsciousness. For several long, tense moments, the only sound in the cargo room was Daniel's turbulent breathing. There was a near simultaneous exhalation as they became convinced the colonel was out.

Teal'c lowered the zat. "Selmak, please explain why it was necessary for this action against O'Neill."

Selmak closed his eyes and inclined his head once. Jacob opened his eyes. "Selmak is pretty tired, and I'll fill you in, but there's something else first." Jacob sat between his daughter and Jack. "I think some Blood of Sokar may have entered Jack's bloodstream. Martouf, check Jack's wound."

"Dad ..." "General Carter …" Sam and Teal'c spoke simultaneously.

"Just hang on, you two."

Martouf's capable hands removed the dressing, now sodden with blood and sweat, that he had placed on O'Neill's staff burn not long ago. He moved in closer to examine it. Soon after, he sat up and sighed. He looked to Sam and Daniel. "I bear full responsibility for this happening to Colonel O'Neill. I did not inspect the wound closely, nor did I wash it. There appear to be some traces of the Blood of Sokar on his skin. I believe the wound is infected as well. It also looks as if someone mutilated it. Perhaps that hand or object had the drug on it. I am sorry."

"Martouf, you couldn't have known," Sam said in an attempt to assuage his guilt. He was as exhausted as everyone else. She probably would have overlooked it herself. Martouf graciously accepted her words, though his guilty feelings remained undiminished.

"I was afraid of that," a suddenly worried Jacob said. "Things are pretty dicey for Jack. This is very serious. There's nothing the Tok'ra can do for him. And Daniel isn't doing much better." They could all tell Daniel was tiring fast and turning ashen. "Teal'c, tell Aldwin to get us to the nearest safe Stargate as quickly as possible." Teal'c nodded and left to deliver the order. "Sam, is there a healing device at the SGC?"

"There should be. General Hammond has standing orders that there is one on base at all times. Can Aldwin contact Vorash and have someone call the SGC to ensure there's one available?" Another swift assessment of Daniel had her adding, "Please tell them to have it in the 'gate room." There was a brief silence when they rocked slightly because of the ship's increase in speed.

"That'll work. Daniel, hang in there. Aldwin or Lantesh will heal you in no time. Now, let's use any water we have left to irrigate Jack's burn. Maybe that'll cut down on how much drug he's getting."

Martouf gathered the meager amounts of water left and began the task of washing out the colonel's wound.

Jacob sighed, feeling the weariness coming back strong after the burst of adrenaline. "As soon as Selmak saw Colonel O'Neill's eyes, she knew what was going on. She's seen it once before about 50 years ago. When taken directly into the bloodstream, the hallucinations become more vivid, very intense, and prolonged. Side effects are nightmares, horrible headaches, nausea, high fever, sweating, generalized aches and pain, heart palpitations, and a few others." Jacob paused while he listened to Selmak. "The person this happened to . . ." Jacob's voice trailed off to nothing.

"Died," a wide-eyed and concerned Daniel whispered coarsely.

A pregnant silence hung like a shroud of fog in the cargo hold. Even Daniel's increasingly labored breaths made no sound.

JJJJ

Sam and Aldwin carried an unconscious Daniel between them. The instant they exited the wormhole, Sam shouted, "Need that device NOW!" They moved halfway down the ramp, where they met Doctor Fraiser. Carefully, Jackson's escorts laid him on the ramp.

"Here it is," Fraiser said as she slapped the healing device in Aldwin's proffered hand.

Sam knelt beside her friend's head. His skin was the color of the sky at high noon, with a hint of dusky gray beneath. His chest barely moved. "We're not too late," she whispered with little confidence to the Tok'ra as she stroked Daniel's damp hair.

Aldwin either didn't hear her or ignored her. He held the device over the center of Jackson's chest. As it began to glow, Teal'c, sporting a bloodied nose and a split lip, emerged through the event horizon, bear-hugging a fighting Jack O'Neill from behind. Instantly, the Security Forces contingent had all weapons trained on O'Neill. "Withhold all fire!" Teal'c commanded.

The hallucinating colonel saw Apophis sitting on his golden throne. "Call off your damn goon, you slimy, sneaky, saprostomous snake-head! We got Selmak, now put Junior back in Teal'c!" Suddenly, he relaxed. His body shrank just enough that he began to slowly slide out of the hold the enemy Jaffa had on him.

George Hammond gulped and shivered at the vitriolic outburst and the hate-filled stare his second-in-command aimed at him like a rocket ready to fire. Biting back a reprimand and the internal chill that spread throughout his body, Hammond said calmly, "Jack, you're back at the SGC. You and the rest of SG-1 are safe."

Teal'c finally noticed that O'Neill was slipping through his arms. Though he was proud of O'Neill's attempt to free himself, Teal'c couldn't risk losing control of his friend. He allowed O'Neill to slide a little farther, then applied a choke hold.

Even as his awareness grew muddy and his kicks at the legs of his captor weaker, O'Neill continued to rail at Apophis. "I'm not going to fall for that crap again, Apophis. So give Teal'c his symbiote back, you motherfu--" And O'Neill was out. Teal'c eased his friend to the ramp.

Jacob Carter stepped through the 'gate. "George." Still woozy and dehydrated, he adopted a wide stance to keep from falling. "Thanks for letting SG-1 come after us." Wobbling despite his best efforts, he plopped down on the ramp and sat cross-legged.

Hammond nodded to his long-time colleague and friend, who had turned a remarkable shade of lime green. "Don't worry, Jacob. We'll get to you shortly, but first we have to secure Colonel O'Neill."

With those words, the four SFs jogged up the ramp and placed the colonel in 4-point restraints. Dr. Warner was right with them. He took the opportunity to examine the unconscious officer. He gasped when he saw O'Neill's black, oscillating pupils. "Let's get him to the infirmary stat. And one of you help Doctor Pendergast with General Carter."

Teal'c refused to let anyone but him carry O'Neill to the waiting gurney, though the remaining three stayed with them. He stopped next to his other two teammates and the Tok'ra, who was just finishing with Daniel Jackson. The linguist's breathing and coloration were quickly returning to normal. Fraiser was placing an oxygen mask over Daniel's nose and mouth. "My deepest thanks to you, Aldwin, for saving the life of my friend. I am indebted to you, as is the rest of SG-1."

A weary Aldwin smiled in return. "You owe us nothing, Teal'c of Chulak. I only wish there was something we can do for Colonel O'Neill."

Teal'c arched an eyebrow. "His wound remains in need of healing. Perhaps that is something with which you can assist."

JJJJ

Sam spent the first 24 hours back on base mostly sleeping in a bed in the infirmary, beside her father. Between Aldwin's use of the healing device and and the SGC medical team's support such as intravenous fluids, high-calorie shakes, and multi-vitamins, Jacob and Selmak were back to their usual excellent state of health in two days.

Teal'c required no assistance, as his _prim'ta_ healed his broken nose, injured lip, and battered shins quickly. He, too, chose to remain in the infirmary while he performed _kel'no'reem_ in a quiet corner, so he could be close to his recovering teammates and Jacob Carter and readily available to assist with controlling O'Neill should he become violent again.

Daniel slept for most of the next 36 hours, awaking only to drink, nibble on some protein bars, and use the facilities. Between Teal'c and Sam, he learned in bits and pieces what had happened since he'd passed out on the _teltak_. Two days after his return to Earth, he was discharged but chose to stay, taking up temporary residence on one side of Jack's bed. Either Teal'c or several SFs were on the other side at all times.

Jack O'Neill's treatment and recovery took a different course. Aldwin was able to use the healing device to repair the worst of the deep tissue damage, but Doctor Fraiser had to finally put a stop to that method. For some unknown reason, O'Neill had become highly agitated, and she guessed that the sensations coming from the healing device were exacerbating his hallucinations. So there followed hemodialysis to remove the drug, ice packs and cooling blankets to bring down the fever, and restraints to keep him in bed and everyone else safe until the effects of the drug had completely dissipated. A quick diagnostic check by Aldwin wielding the healing device one last time revealed that Jack had no brain damage from the sleeper hold Teal'c had delivered on their return home.

JJJJ

O'Neill lost all track of time and reality. Nothing seemed right. He would surface for brief fragments of time when he was positive he was awake, but conflicting images, sounds, smells, and sensations confounded and frightened him and he escaped by concentrating on old memories: hockey games, graduation from the Air Force Academy, Charlie's birth.

His subconscious began to sort everything out, though it was so slowly that it seemed as if there was no end to this hell in sight, until he was mostly certain that he had mistaken Daniel for Apophis, nearly killing him with one hand, and that there was only one, very much alive Jaffa on SG-1. Finally, he drifted into restful unconsciousness.

JJJJ

"What do you have to report, Jenny?"

Languidly rising to wakefulness, Jack almost whooped for joy when he recognized Janet Fraiser's clinical tone untainted by Goa'uldy resonance. He pushed himself to the surface of consciousness.

"According to the EEG, he's been having normal sleep for about the last four consecutive hours, ma'am," replied the nurse currently monitoring him. "He's been stable, plus his temp is down, too."

Jack, almost awake, heard the doc's sigh of relief. He even caught the faint perfume of her shampoo. It didn't smell of blood or _prim'ta_ ooze this time. And he could sense Teal'c nearby. He heard the familiar sounds and smelled the familiar odors of the infirmary. For the first time in what had to be ages, he permitted himself to think that maybe his tour in Hell was over.

"Looks like he's waking up," Fraiser said. After a pause, she continued, "Colonel? Wake up, sir. You're home."

Jack opened one eye and saw his friend and physician looking at him with hope. No flashy eyes this time. He opened his other eye and gave her a soft smile. Hovering beside her was Teal'c. In the Jaffa's eyes he read hope tempered with caution; in his muscular body, Jack saw a readiness for action. His smile widened, reassured that Teal'c was there to step in should he lose it again. "O great and powerful Oz, can I go to my _real_ home now?" he asked cheekily. As he tugged at the straps around his wrists, he continued, "And can these 'bracelets' come off?"

Fraiser treated them both to a huge smile. "Not quite yet, Colonel. I need to check out a few things first."

"I'll make you a deal. Don't shine that damn light in my eyes, and I'll let you - just you - take me home, handcuffs and all." He wiggled his eyebrows in a mock come-on. Turning to Teal'c, he said, "Sorry, big guy. Not this time."

Janet laughed. "It's tempting, sir, but . . ."

"Pizza and beer, too? My treat." An eye blink later, he yawned and settled back into a sleep not plagued by pouch-making jewels or an evil pretender to godhood.

Despite Fraiser's reassurances that O'Neill was no longer a threat, Hammond decided to keep the 24-hour guard in place. After all, Jack O'Neill had superlative skills in the art of deception, even under alien influence, and Hammond needed to protect the people on this base.

O'Neill was able to simply doze, when he was conscious enough to remember and think, and sleep for two more days, thanks to the tubes going in and out of his body. Eventually, Hammond approved the removal of the restraints and called off the guard.

JJJJ

The next time O'Neill woke fully, surprisingly refreshed and alert, it was to Daniel and Teal'c on either side of his bed. He heard Sam talking softly with Doc Fraiser just a few feet away.

"Hi, Jack. Welcome back." Daniel smiled broadly. "You know, it's not a good idea to relive the '70s again and please don't do that any time soon. At least not while I'm on the same planet."

Jack nodded. He regarded the faint bruising on Daniel's neck, recognizing that the patterns matched his thumb and fingers. Though there were still a few things he was sorting out, he knew he had come very close to killing his friend. Jack pointed and waved an index finger at his own neck. "About ... that. I'm sorry, Daniel."

The left side of Daniel's mouth twitched. "It's okay, Jack. You weren't exactly thinking straight."

"Dammit, Daniel, I thought you were _Apophis_. And I almost killed you." He could remember feeling the airway collapse beneath his hand. He shuddered internally. "That's _so_ not 'okay.'"

"Jack, it was the Blood of Sokar that made you do that, not you."

F _at lot of good drug resistance training did_ , Jack thought angrily. "Yeah, well ..."

Daniel sighed, resigned to the fact that no matter what he or anyone else said, Jack would never forgive himself for his actions. Quickly, he changed the subject, believing it the best way to pull Jack out of the deep end of the self-recrimination pool. "You thought General Hammond was Apophis, too. Do you remember what you said?"

O'Neill, rising to the bait, winced. "Oh, yeah. Hope he didn't bust me back all the way to airman basic."

"He did not, O'Neill. You remain a colonel. GeneralHammond is an understanding commander. Had he truly been Apophis, you would have been tortured and killed. Probably many times over." Teal'c said dispassionately.

"Gee, thanks, Teal'c. That's what I like about you - always able to see the silver lining."

"You are welcome, O'Neill."

"Colonel! Good to see you awake, sir," Sam Carter said as she came to stand at the foot of the bed, where Fraiser joined her.

"Back atcha, Major. The 'good to see you' part, that is. How's Jacob?"

"He is doing fine, Colonel," Janet said before Sam could respond, "thanks in part to Aldwin and my team. He's having lunch with the general as we speak."

"Mmm ... lunch. Sounds good. Couple cheese and bean burritos would hit the spot. Or pizza. Chinese would be nice. Hell, how about all of 'em?"

Janet chuckled. "Sorry, sir, but I had something a bit lighter in mind for your first few meals."

"Aw, Doc, come on. Do you _always_ have to take the wind outta my sails?"

Janet gave him a wicked look. "Yes." Turning toward the rest of SG-1, she said, "Okay, folks, two more minutes then you're out of here. I have a detailed neuro examination to perform on the colonel." Reluctantly, all of SG-1 agreed.

"Jack, I'm curious."

"Isn't that your usual state of affairs, Daniel?"

Jackson sneered at O'Neill. "Teal'c told me you called Hammond 'saprostomous.' That had everyone running to the dictionary, Jack. Where did you learn that word anyway?"

Jack's neck reddened; once again, he'd been called out. Knowing weird words was part of being the Minnesota state spelling bee champ three years running. But they didn't need to know that. _So think, Jack._ "Uh ... Word-a-Day email. I subscribed in self-defense so I could understand a little bit of what you and Carter say, what with your highfalutin' vocabulary. Teal'c's no slouch in the incomprehensible word department either, ya know."

"Thank you, O'Neill." Teal'c nodded regally, with a touch of smugness.

"Don't mention it, buddy. And I only meant that foul-breath thing about the Go'uld, not the Jaffa."

"Indeed."

"Sir, something you said during the hallucinations bothers me a little."

"What's that, Carter?"

Sam hesitated, then jumped in with both feet. "You were willing to turn my dad over to Apophis in return for Teal'c getting his symbiote back. Would you _really_ do that, sir?"

There was no hesitation on O'Neill's part. "Absolutely, Major." The shock on both Carter and Daniel's faces was immediate, but he wasn't surprised by this, and the agreement on Teal'c's countenance confirmed that his fellow soldier understood O'Neill's decision in the given, albeit unreal, situation.

"Sir?" Sam had a hard time not sounding disappointed or judgmental.

Jack remained silent in hopes that Carter would figure it out for herself. When she didn't, he looked at the Jaffa, giving him permission to explain.

"Turning Selmak over to Apophis would be an appropriate tactical decision in this circumstance, MajorCarter. O'Neill would have ensured that Selmak had one or more weapons hidden on his person. If Apophis had returned the symbiote to my pouch, all of SG-1 as Jaffa and Selmak as Tok'ra would have had an excellent chance to escape, if not kill the false god as well. Apophis would have believed that turning SG-1 into Jaffa would make the team compliant, not an enemy force with a plan to defeat him. Such was his arrogance."

Jack said, "Give the man a cigar."

Both Daniel and Sam grinned sheepishly. "Yes, sir," Sam replied, thankful she had two brilliant warriors to learn from. She wondered, though, if she'd ever be ready to make the kind of decision that required going beyond personal feelings.

"Okay, folks, scoot!" Janet ordered as she made shooing gestures at them.

"We'll be back later, Jack."

"Bring me some pie, wouldja, Daniel? And cake. And I wouldn't turn down a beer - or six."

JJJJ

Jack snatched a few moments of think time during Janet's exam. He couldn't get Teal'c's last words out of his head.

"Such was his arrogance."

_Was._

His team believed Apophis had died in the explosions and fires of Netu. Publicly he would agree with them, but he knew otherwise. Didn't know how he knew, though. It was just that this knowledge was not a figment of his drugged imagination.

He knew without a doubt that Apophis was still alive. He felt it deep in his gut. Where his _prim'ta_ pouch had been.

the end  
© 2011

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Helen for the beta.


End file.
